


From Beyond The Grave

by LadyEkaterina



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Halloween, Little nod to Enchanted, M/M, Magic, Short, Sweet, death of a minor character, non Canon, soft, spell, very sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-23
Updated: 2019-09-26
Packaged: 2020-10-27 00:21:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20751215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyEkaterina/pseuds/LadyEkaterina
Summary: A Halloween tale of ghostly visitors.





	1. The Party

When Terry finally died in prison, there wasn't the fanfare you might have expected. The Gallaghers barely noticed as they were trying to make sure Ian stayed on his medication. Ian had run away after the marriage of Mickey and Svetlana and even though he had returned with a diagnosis of bipolar, the two boys hadn't spoken let alone rekindled their relationship. In the Milkovich household, any relief Mickey, Mandy and Iggy felt was spoiled by the arrival of their two elder brothers, Jamie and Joey. They were so like their father it was like having two more Terrys in the house. Svetlana was swelling care of the pregnancy, and that seemed to scare them so they stayed away from her and Mickey, but Iggy and Mandy were spending less and less time at home.

Leading up to Halloween, Kev and V decided to throw a party at the Alibi. Everyone was going. It was going to be the shindig of the season. Kev had got in burgers and hot dogs and V had covered the bar with cobwebs, bats and pumpkins. Fancy dress was optional. 

The day before, Joey had come home furtively and sneaked into Jamie's room.  
"You get it all?"   
"Yeah. But Jamie, we don't even know what this does."  
"Don't matter. Dad said we needed to give it to him on Halloween. Maybe it’s a spell to take the fag away?"  
"It might kill him."  
"Win-win then" Jamie said carelessly.

At The Alibi, Jamie tapped Mickey on the shoulder and handed him a shot of dark liquid.  
“Here you go little bro. Drink up.”  
Mickey looked suspicious and sniffed the drink before shrugging. He knocked back the drink and shuddered. It was foul.  
“What the fuck was that Jamie?”  
“Special Halloween cocktail of my own.”  
Mickey rubbed his forehead.  
“Fucking hell. I don’t fell very...” And he collapsed onto the floor.  
“Mickey!” Mandy screamed. The music was cut off and everyone gathered around the body of Mickey. His body was rigid and ice cold to touch. Kev rang 911 but it was Halloween night and everyone knew what that meant in the Southside. It meant that it could be some time before help would turn up.   
Kev and Iggy picked Mickey up and moved him to a banquette. Kev looked at him, frowning.  
“Did he have a black eye when he came in?”  
“No!”  
“Look” Kev gestured to his face where a split lip had just appeared along with the bruised eye. Mickey’s knuckles were also now grazed and bloodied.

Joey looked at his brother, blanched and ran to the door. Where Svetlana was waiting.  
“What did you do?”  
“Nothing,”  
“You lie.”  
Panicked Joey pushed past her and ran out of the door. Mandy overheard the exchange and pushed Jamie hard in the chest.  
“Joey wouldn’t have done anything on his own. What did you do?”  
“Fuck off sis.”  
Kev turned on him.   
“He’s getting beaten up somehow. What the fuck did you do, Milkovich?”  
“I don’t know, all right. I just made the drink.”  
“What drink?”  
“I don’t fuckin’ know. It had Aconite, Bay and Juniper in it.”  
Mandy turned to Lip.  
“Lip, please. Help me, please.”  
Lip was already using his phone to look up the ingredients.  
“Ok I think I’ve got something. That combination is a Slav recipe for a spirit walk.”  
“A what?”  
Lip shrugged.  
“Something called a spirit walk. To have your soul sent to the spirit world.”

Ian was sitting next to the banquette, his face white. He had a cool damp cloth and he was dabbing gently at Mickey’s face. Every time he looked a new wound appeared, not just on his face but his arms and chest too. Mandy walked over to him.  
“I’ll do that” She reached out for the cloth.  
“No it’s all right.” Ian held the cloth away from her.  
“Ian give her the cloth” Lip barked.  
“No. Look at him Lip! He’s dying. Right in front of us.”  
"Why are you still doing this to yourself Ian? He left you - He pushed you away to marry that... woman. He didn't even have the guts to..."  
"Shut up." Ian cut in, low and quiet.  
“Mickey was a coward" finished Lip. Ian glared, but he didn't contradict him.  
“No.” A harsh accented voice. Svetlana pushed her way through the small crowd, belly first. She poked Lip in the chest with a long manicured finger.  
“You think you're so smart, and yet you are so stupid. Piece of shit husband was afraid, yes. But never for himself. Everything he did, or said, was with someone else in mind.”  
She turned to Ian.   
“Did you never figure it out? Of course not - You were also selfish and stupid.”  
Ian was about to argue but Svetlana cut him off and turned to Lip again.  
“Mikhailo was never afraid for himself. He married me. He stayed with me. All this, he did for Orange Boy.” She gestured to Ian.  
“Wait, What?” Ian was stunned.  
Svetlana shook her head.   
“You are Stupid Boy. Terry told Mikhailo he would have you killed if we didn't marry, if he ever spoke to you again. He stayed away from you to protect you. It was always about you.”  
Ian had tears in his eyes. “It was?”  
Svetlana nodded.  
They looked down at the prone Mickey. Another graze had appeared on his face.  
“So what do we do now.”  
Ian had knelt down next to Mickey, tears now flowing freely.   
“We don’t have long” said Lip reading from his phone. “It’s 10 to midnight and if you don’t wake him by 12, he stays there. There’s an antidote here but I have no idea where we’d even get some of these ingredients.”  
“What!” Ian was panicked. He ran over to Jamie and started shaking him.  
“How do we wake him. HOW?”  
Jamie actually looked a little nervous of Ian’s crazed face. “I dunno. Dad just said to give him the drink.”  
“This is from Terry?”  
“Yeah. We thought it might pull the faggot out of him. Dad said he had to have it on Halloween."  
Ian’s fingers curled into a fist, but before he could throw the punch, he heard Mickey gasp and he ran back over to him. Dark finger marks were forming around his neck, and his breath was becoming shallow and raspy.  
Ian knelt by Mickey.  
“What can I do?”, he sobbed.  
A whisper on the air said “The most powerful thing in the world.”  
“What the fuck? The most powerful thing in the world?”  
He looked round to see who’d said it but everyone was looking equally bewildered.   
“What the fuck does that even mean?”  
Silence. Then Debbie squeaked.  
“True love's kiss!”  
“What Debs?”  
“it’s from Enchanted! I watched it earlier. Most powerful thing in the world. True love's kiss.”  
“Huh?”  
“Fuck, you really are stupid. Do you love Mickey?”  
He looked down. “Yeah.”  
“And he obviously loves you. Kiss him, you ass”  
Kev shrugged “What have you got to lose?”  
“1 minute 20 seconds”   
Ian bent over Mickey and softly kissed him. He stroked his face.  
“Come back to me Mick” he whispered.  
Mickey’s eyelids fluttered and the first thing he saw was the concerned face of Ian hovering over him.  
“Gallagher?” His voice was choked and gruff from the strangulation.  
“Yeah. Hey, Mick.”  
Ian helped Mickey sit up.  
“OK everyone - Let’s go about our business” yelled Kev. Iggy walked up to Jamie. And hit him hard in the stomach.   
“Pack your shit and get out of the house. You and Joey”  
Jamie stared at his little brother. He snorted in derision. Then Svetlana stood next to Iggy, arms folded.  
“You stay. I kill you in your sleep.”  
Jamie looked at them both then turned and fled.  
Ian had been whispering urgently to Mickey. He stood up and helped Mickey to stand.  
“Mickey and I are going back to the house. We’ve got some things to talk about.”   
Ian glared around the room. Svetlana nodded at him. Lip raised his hands in submission.  
No one argued.  
Ian held Mickey around his waist and walked slowly through the room. As he reached the door he thought he saw reflected in the polished doorplate, a woman who looked just like Mandy, and she was smiling at him. But when he turned to look back at her, there was no one there. Like a voice on the breeze he heard “Look after my boy....please.”


	2. The Other Place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Whilst everyone was in the Alibi, Mickey had been transported to Somewhere Else.

Mickey had heard that Ian was back home from Mandy. He also heard that Ian was fine. He heard that a lot. Mickey knew he wasn’t fine himself, but he hoped Ian was.  
It wasn’t like he could do anything about it anyway, even now. With his brothers in the house, he was as much in the closet as ever. Only now with a pregnant Russian wife to boot.

They were all going to the Alibi for Halloween. Mickey had only agreed to go when Mandy told him Ian was going. Fuck, at least he could see him.  
He stood at the bar trying not to stare when Jamie came over and gave him a shot of something. Smelled foul but it might make the evening bearable. There was a burning in his throat and the the world went black.  


When Mickey opened his eyes, he was lying on what felt like earth but looked like ash. He shivered and noted the goose bumps appearing on his arms. Where was he? Had he passed out in the Alibi and his brothers dumped him here. He scrambled up and looked around but all he could see was a thick mist curling around him. There as no noise at all.  
“Hey!” He shouted.  
“Hey ey ey ey ey.” Came the echo.  
Mickey was no pussy but he was not liking this one bit. Then on the air, like a whisper.  
“Fucking faggot.”  
Out of the fog came an invisible thud, hitting him right in the eye.  
“What the fuck?”  
Another whack split his lip.  
“Rather you were dead than the pissing pansy you are.”  
Mickey spun round wildly trying to see where the blows were coming from.  
Blows rained down upon him until he was bent double, and he thought about just giving up.  
“Should’ve shot that fuckin ginger fag when I had the chance. Teach you to suck dick.”  
Mickey raised his head. He took note of where the hits were coming from and he hit out with his fists. He connected with something. And he heard a satisfying groan.  
“You stay away from hm! You don’t get to speak about him. Not ever.” Mickey snarled.  
Mickey continued flailing with his fists, sometimes hitting something when a heavy kick in his back knocked him to the ground. Before he could rally, invisible hands locked round his neck squeezing hard. Mickey felt himself fade.  
The mist was clearing. Mickey was standing next to a woman. He recognised her at once. But for the first time, she looked happy, peaceful and there wasn’t a needle in sight.  
“Mom” He said.  
“Mikhailo” she smiled. Then she looked past him sadly. Mickey turned to see his own lifeless body lying on the ground, bruises marking his face, chest and most prominently his neck.  
“Am I dead?”  
She shook her head sadly.  
“Not quite.”  
Then she spoke again, urging Mickey to return.  
“Go back Mikhailo. Don’t give up.”  
The last sentence was almost a whisper as the vision evaporated. Mickey looked back at his prone body and tried to will himself back. He was cncentrating so hard he almost missed the whispered voice  
“Come back to me Mickey.”  
He help his hand up to touch his lips. For a moment it was as if... As if..  
Ian.  


Mickey opened his eyes blearily and saw Ian leaning over him.  
“Gallagher?” He croaked.  
“Don’t try to talk. Just listen please. I’m sorry. I didn’t get why you did what you did. I didnt understand. I’m so sorry. And um.... I’m bipolar. Manic depression. I’m on medication. But it may be the reason I get so het up. I don’t expect you to forgive me. But can we at least talk?”  
Mickey stared at the gabbling redhead.  
“You brought me back”  
“Yeah.”  
“Thank you.”  
“Wanna go someplace and talk.”  
“Yeah.”  
Ian wrapped his arm under Mickey and helped him up.


	3. Coming Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I needed an extra chapter to finish this off. Very sweet, possibly soppy.

Ian helped Mickey all the way to his house. It was silent for the first time in Mickey’s memory. Ian took him to the sofa and helped him sit. Then he went and got the first aid kit.  
“I’m OK, Red”  
“Let me help you, Mickey, please.”  
Mickey looked at Ian’s face and nodded, holding out his hands.  
Ian gently cleaned the grazed knuckles. He looked across at the darker boy.  
“Do you know what happened?”  
Mickey looked up   
“Not sure. It’s all fuzzy.”  
Ian nodded.  
Mickey started again.  
“Jamie.” He said. “Jamie gave me a shot of something. It was disgusting whatever it was.”  
“Lip looked it up.”  
Mickey looked up surprised.  
“Lip?”  
“Yeah. So after you went out. Svet and Mandy figured it was Jamie and Joey. They told them what it was and Lip googled it.”  
“Fuck. And?”  
“And it was some sort of Ukrainian magic. They’re both gone by the way.”  
“I heard!”  
“Something your dad had asked them to do.”  
“Terry.”  
Mickey’s tone was flat.   
“Makes sense actually. I woke up somewhere weird and cold. I thought I’d got drunk and passed out. I was planning on getting very drunk.”  
“Why?”  
Mickey looked at him, head on one side.   
“Guess.”  
Ian looked at the floor.   
“Oh”  
“It was misty so I couldn’t see who was hitting me.”  
“Yeah Lip said you were in some kind of spirit realm”  
“I’m just gonna go along with that.”  
“So did you figure out who.... who?”  
Mickey thought....  
“Terry. I heard like whispers but it being Terry makes a lot of sense.”  
Mickey smiled, wincing at the pain.  
“You saved me before you even saved me, Firecrotch.”  
“What?”  
“I had almost given up. Then he talked shit about you. About how he should have killed you. Gave me the fire to fight back.”  
“Yeah?”  
Mickey nodded, a shy smile flickered around his face.  
“Oh Mickey.”  
Ian brought Mickey’s hand up to his mouth and touched it with his lips.  
“I wish you’d told me what happened... before”  
Mickey’s eyebrows knitted.  
“How did you find out?”  
Ian huffed.  
“Svetlana.”  
“Huh! The Russkie’s going soft in her dotage.”  
“She called Lip and me stupid several times. Why didn’t you tell me, Mick”  
“I couldn’t, Ian. I couldn’t risk it. He was very specific about what he would do to you. You have to know Ian, I would have done... would do anything for you.”  
Then Mickey looked suddenly shocked at a memory.  
“I saw my mom! She came to help me too!”  
Ian remember the reflection he thought he’d seen.  
“Mickey, did your mum.... did she look like Mandy?”  
“Yeah! The spit.... why?”  
“I think your mum helped me too. I was getting really panicky trying to wake you when I heard a voice. And later I thought I saw, well Mandy but older.”  
“I heard your voice Ian. Calling me back and I thought I felt....”  
Mickey touched his lips.  
“True love’s kiss.”  
“You are fucking kidding me!”  
“Nope. That’s what... well I suppose what your mom suggested. Like the movie Enchanted.”  
“Right.....”  
Mickey looked uncomfortable. He knew he loved Ian but he was terrified of it being out there in the world like that.

Ian put the first aid bits and pieces on the table and stretched out his hand to smooth Mickey’s hair. Mickey winced as he skimmed over the bruising around his eye. Mickey met his eyes and held his gaze.  
“You said you were bipolar? What does that mean?”  
“I’m like my mom. I have like these episodes, mania and some psychotic times and then I might have a depressive time. I didn’t get out of bed for 3 weeks when I came back.”  
“But you take meds. And they work?”  
“Yeah. Mostly. Apparently sometimes they might need changing or something.”  
“Wow I’m so sorry, Gallagher”.  
“It was bound to happen to one of use. Rubbish genes right?”  
“No, I’m sorry I wasn’t around for you.”  
Ian was surprised by this but he liked it. He decided not to comment on it. Instead he said  
“How’s the lip?”  
Mickey ran his tongue over the split.  
“A little sore but nothing I haven’t had before.”  
“Good because unless you say no, I’m going to kiss you.”  
“I’m not gonna say no.”  
Ian moved slowly towards Mickey moving his hands up to hold Mickey’s face gently. He moved his lips to touch Mickey’s. They held it there for a few seconds before Ian used the tip of his tongue to lick Mickey’s lips. Mickey’s breathing became heightened and he opened his mouth slightly to allow Ian to lick and suck his tongue and lips.  
Eventually they broke apart.   
“I’m sorry Gallagher, I don’t reckon I’m up to much tonight. “  
“I had guessed.” smiled Ian. “You wanna stay here tonight?”  
“You think that’ll be ok?”  
“I think after what happened tonight, no one will dare say anything.”  
“Then yeah, thanks”  
Ian pulled himself out the sofa and held out his hand. Mickey took it and allowed Ian to lead the way.  
They undressed each other gently, Ian looking over Mickey’s Injuries, Mickey in turn wanting to commit Ian’s body to memory. Just in case. Then they both got into Ian’s tiny bed and Ian wrapped himself around his love. He smiled when he felt Mickey take his arm and clasp it close to his chest. And that was how the Gallaghers found them when they finally got home. Fiona eventually shooed them all out and sent Liam and Carl into Lip’s room as Mandy had taken him with her to the Milkovich house.. Fiona looked towards the couple one more time and the thought that she’d never seen Ian’s face so peaceful cross her mind. Her brother opened his eyes, meeting her brown ones. She smiled and mouthed “G’night sweetface.” Ian smiled in return and closed his eyes, nuzzling into Mickey’s neck.


End file.
